Behind-the-Scenes Bits: All the Things You Didn't See on 'The Bachelorette: Men Tell All'

Yahoo TV

Carrie BellJuly 22, 2014

Bachelorette Andi Dorfman's Southern upbringing usually dictates that she describe any amount of perspiration as glowing. But sugarcoated slang doesn't accurately capture the sweaty state she found herself in at the Hollywood taping of the "Men Tell All" episode a week ago.

"I was absolutely dripping. Not very ladylike to admit, but true. Any time you see an ex, you're nervous. So I should have expected that with however many exes I had to face tonight it would be multiplied," the Atlanta lawyer told Yahoo TV backstage exclusively after the almost-four-hour taping. "My only knowledge of a 'Tell All' was the one I was on, and that was a bloodbath. The thought that kept running through my head was that I was headed for the slaughterhouse."

Luckily for her, this batch of beaus didn't bite too hard — at least not at her. They did bark quite a bit at one another. Because not all of the drama could be stuffed into Monday night's two-hour time slot, we compiled the best of what you didn't see, behind-the-scenes bits, and burning questions.

Blind Date

The viewers aren't the only ones who wish they were flies on the wall of the candlelit set. (BTW, real candles are used. The designated lighter was overheard telling a live audience member that the battery-operated ones with fake flicking flames don't work well on TV and that it "feels like there are thousands of candles.") The Bachelorette is sequestered in her dressing room and not given a monitor to see what the guys are griping or guffawing about. "I'm just gonna have to read y'all's story to find out who talked about me," she joked.

Name Game

After finding out from the live ultrasound that she was expecting a boy, Ashley exclaimed, "So it really is Harrison." Unfortunately, the name discussion that preceded the punch line was cut. Chris Harrison, who brags that he brought the former Bachelorette and J.P. together and then married them in 2012, had suggested earlier that if they found out their baby bump was of the male variety, they should call him Harrison Rosenbaum. J.P. responded, "That's a lot of syllables." Harrison's retort: "No, that's presidential." As he bid the happy couple goodbye, he also lamented their planned Big Apple exit. "I'll miss you guys in New York. You're my go-to dinner."

Commercial Chaos

As the reunion is not taped live, production builds in commercial breaks during which the bachelors hit the bathrooms, craft services, and one another. A producer playfully punched farmer Chris in his Iowa corncob. Dirty jokes erupted out of the men's bathroom when a handful of hunks occupied it. Let's just say services were jokingly offered. Cody came barreling out of the studio in search of shots and later grabbed a carrot-kale smoothie. Farmer Chris said to us, "A lot of us haven't talked or seen each other since the show and there was some drinking, so there is bound to be some bro-ing out."

But boys aren't the only ones who partook in break-time banter. Andi, after her segment, wandered over to the men's dais for hugs and chitchat. She complimented Patrick and Dylan's new hairdos and accepted an apology from Ron, who left suddenly for a personal emergency. "Sorry I didn't say goodbye. Thanks for calling to check on me. It meant a lot." And she teased Nick, who said more on this one night than on his whole time on the series, about his unaired accusations that she didn't give him a fair shot because she lumped him with drunk Craig. "Oh my sour grapes! First of all, Craig is good company to be in."

Blacklist

Marquel inquired if race had anything to do with Andi not giving him a rose, and she insisted she never once considered their different skin tones a "hindrance." She continued: "I come from a very blended family. It had nothing to do with race. It is 2014, and that is not how I was raised. We just always felt like a friendship."

Blacklist Part II

Much of the men-only portion was spent dissecting the racist comment Andrew allegedly said at the rose ceremony, and most of the debate made it on-air. But when Chris Harrison questioned how they could resolve it, Craig chanted, "Fight, fight! fight!" Marquel told Yahoo TV afterward, "I will probably never know what was really said. Racism is never acceptable, though, and the whole experience was so disappointing. It took my eye off the prize and was never something I thought I would have to deal with on this show. But I also made a lot of great friends and have gotten such amazing feedback from fans about how I dealt with it, so some good came out of it.

After he had passed out all of his cookies, he returned to hugs and high-fives from his fellow panelists. He even shook Andrew's hand. Clever editing made it seem like JJ busted in to complain about being "aggressively attacked" about ratting out Andrew just before Marquel hit the hot seat when, in actuality, his outburst occurred just before Andi took the stage.

Audience Participation

JJ wasn't the only person who tried to take Harrison's job. The small-town Canadian cutie with a crush on contestant Chris had been planning her intervention for weeks by Facebook-stalking producer Elan Gale, who also happened to be the Post-it provider. She told Chris during their speed date: "I was such a creeper." Chris, who sweetly told her to ignore the guys egging him on to "smooch" her, was impressed by her plan. "You have a lot more balls than I do."

When asked if he planned to use the digits he scored, Chris coyly said, "She was very nice and we had things in common, like she works in agriculture, but I will have to sleep on it." Harrison, who thinks she is a must-cast should Chris become the next Bachelor, swore he had no idea that was going to happen. "If we'd scripted that, it would have gone a lot better than that. I'm getting soft in my old age. A few years ago, I wouldn't have done that, but now I throw it against a wall and see if it sticks."

Chest-Kept Secret

Marcus, who received a "best chest hair in America" shoutout from Cody during his hot seat installment, remained unscathed most of the night. Until Harrison revealed he'd lied about sleeping with fewer than 20 women during the lie-detector test and asked for his number. (He asked off-air in Spanish as well.) He wouldn't come clean to us either. "Way to put me on the spot, Chris Harrison. That was embarrassing. Not that I'm admitting that I lied. Those tests are notoriously unreliable."

Haute Cookie

Marquel's original fashion plan was to wear a shirt with a dessert print. "My good friend Christina Martinez is a designer, and she was going to make me a shirt. But they were all sold-out of cookie fabric. She overnighted me a cookie lapel pin instead. I love it. This is me. Cookies make me happy, and I love trying new things in fashion."